Page 65 of House of Malice
Gill arched an eyebrow. “Such as?”
“That you like to turn spoiled Venefica students into crows,” Demitria said. “You must have a whole army by now. How do you feed them all?”
One corner of Gill’s mouth curved up, and Galliermo couldn’t believe it. Demitria had almost made Gill smile. That was the event of the century, if not a whole millennium.
“I don’t,” Gill said. “I let them fend for themselves or die.”
Demitria laughed; the sweet and cheerful sound made Galliermo’s insides melt.
“I’ll get you the stuff you need,” Gill said, returning their attention to Galliermo. “Wait here.” They disappeared behind the door leading to the back of the shop.
Galliermo squeezed Demitria’s hand. He didn’t dare speak out loud, for Gill might still hear them, so he mouthed the words,I fucking love you.
Demitria awarded him with a smile and sent him an air kiss right before Gill returned with a black box and a glass jar. They placed both items on the counter and opened the box to reveal two vials on a red satin pillow.
“This is gonna cost you,” Gill said, tapping a long-nailed finger on the corner of the box. “They’re my last two.”
Galliermo nodded and pulled out the checkbook. He scribbled a number on it and passed it to Gill.
They inspected it and, after a moment, nodded briefly. “Off you go,” they said.
“One more thing,” Galliermo said. He pointed at the glass shelf. “I would like to buy the pearl necklace.”
Gill arched an eyebrow and clicked their tongue. “Can you afford that, Leveau?”
Embarrassment rolled down Galliermo’s body, making his ears flush with heat. He lifted his chin and nodded. Gill stared at Demitria while Galliermo wrote another check.
Galliermo would find a way to give the money back to the House. He’d ask Alatar or work it off in a fucking factory—he didn’t care. Demitria needed that necklace, and he was ready to do whatever it took to buy it for her.
Gill took the check and didn’t even look at it before they stuffed it into a drawer. “That’s one expensive mortal you have here.”
“She’s worth it,” Galliermo said. “Anything and everything.”
Gill huffed and stalked to retrieve the necklace, their black robes trailing behind them. When they took it, they carefully packed it in a nice velvet jewelry box and handed it to Galliermo.
“When you have a child, stop by,” Gill said. “I’ll pay handsomely for their tears.”
Galliermo smirked. “Will do. Thanks, Gill.”
He didn’t even know how tense he was until they both stepped outside, into the fresh air of the street.
“You didn’t have to, my love,” Demitria said, looking up at Galliermo with sad eyes. “I don’t need you to buy me expensive gifts when we can’t afford it.”
Galliermo shut her up with a kiss. It was a passionate, claiming kiss. He wanted her to feel what he did. To know that she was his and that it meant he’d do everything to keep her.
“It’s enchanted to protect you,” Galliermo said, once they peeled off each other. “I want you to be safe in a world that’s not kind to you. Wear it at all times.”
Demitria nodded. Galliermo didn’t wait until they were home to place it around her neck. As he closed the clasp, Galliermo said, “This is just the first piece of jewelry I’ll give you. Once we graduate and I become a real estate mogul, I’ll buy you jewels like this every month. Because you deserve it.”
Demitria laughed, looking down at the necklace. “Oh, it’s perfect. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
29
“Do you really think she killed herself?” Jolene asked the question on all their minds for the whole day.
Their group was walking through the campus towards Blood Lake. The sun had already started to set, and the air was turning chilly.
